How fast will the 3.2 go anyway?

I seem to recall a 3.2 Coupe hitting the drag-induced wall at 147 mph.

 

That is fast enough in a 30 year old car. 150 in today's cars is alot different that 150 in an 80's vintage anything.
Alden

 

For sure. Anything over 120 is pretty adventurous in an unrestored old car.

 

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/mondial/546983-consolidated-performance-specs.html

Paul did a nice comparison between the different models including top speed.

 

Once I had a long straight that was protected. The tach was nearly at the red and it was indicated at 145 ish, maybe a bit more. At that speed I wasn't watching the gauges too close. 130 isn't too hard to get to but from there the acceleration drops off and it takes a long time. It's very scary with the engine screaming near red line for quite a while. I'll never do it again. It was just plain stupid. Where I did it I figured if I balled it up I'd be the only person I took out. That being said, who knows how accurate any individual speedo and tach are. I feel confident that given enough time and space it would hit the listed top speed.

After that experience friends who wanted the rush would get to experience 130 but no more.

As said above, those speeds in 80's unrestored tech is scary.

I get more pleasure on winding country roads loafing along where you feel what the car really has to offer, the feel of the wheel and how she takes the road.

 

I had over 135 mph in mine on a mountain road in my younger day, but coming into a corner it made me understand Mondial brakes are not that good, besides which i think the rear wheels were jumping about a bit.
Never tried that again. Not recommended

 

If you calculate the theoretical top speed knowing the car's frontal area of 1.915m2, Cd=0.4, mass incl. driver and full tank 1'631kg, sla 310mm, top gear ratio 3.514, max power 199kW, power vs rpm curve and driveline efficiency of 89% (a little optimistic), it returns 238km/h or 149mph at 7'156rpm.

 

Impressive!

 

Ferrari currently states 250kmh. Web suggestions seem to range from 144-156.

Be interesting to hear your 140-0 times, my lowly QV once read 137 but started to feel uneasy going above that. On subsequent inspection I rebuilt the front suspension, shocks and bushes, and both ARBs and bushes over the following few days! Above indicated 130mph the acceleration was noticeably slower/different, but was still there. From previous posters I think the 3.2 would also struggle to routinely see/use the top speed...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

That must be for the Coupe. I'd say that the aerodynamic drag of the Cab is greater, so the top speed is lower.

 

Ferrari states 250kmh for coupe and for the cab. I guess bits start to fall off and run out of steam before the drag gets a chance to differentiate!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Ps... and the 328 at 263kmh.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Yea, that's when they were new (and Ferrari was optimistic ).

I wonder how much canvas flapping goes on at those speeds.

 

That sounds roughly correct.

 

Yes. I have no Cd for the Cab, but they are usually a touch less slippery and change shape/Cd with speed change.

 

To reach 250km/h with the above technical & aerodynamic assumptions, you'd need 305hp. Simple physics.
The engine would run at 7'517rpm assuming no tire slip. I don't think that a 3.2 develops 305hp at 7'500rpm, but maybe someone could provide an actual dyno readout?

The output stated on the homologation paper is 199kW/267hp.

 

You may be correct, though the 250 kmh is not too dissimilar to a previous post. However Ferrari currently state the top speed for the coupe and cab as 250kmh on their website. As we know the 0-62 quotes are often in reality in a 'range', I imagine so too their top speeds which come with a touch of 1980s accuracy


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

The 3.2L Mondial homologation paper states 237km/h with 255/55R16 tires or 235 for the TRX version at the rpm of max power, which is 7'000. This means that either side of 7'000, less power is available and therefore a higher speed isn't achievable. Sorry guys, 250 isn't in for a standard 3.2 ;-)
What the speedo says is another story. My calculations were close enough Anyone has a real road test?
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

I think we collectively agree that info in Ferrari documents are not always joined up and/or accurate. I imagine your excerpt from them is correct, but this doesn't change what they currently state in their 'garage' section, ie 250kmh. Interesting that they don't worry about this stuff. I don't have my factory brochures to hand, and I only have the owners and workshop manuals for the QV, so I don't know what 0-100kmh and top-speed was stated at the time (as per the OP).
I have a bunch of period road tests, I will post when I dig them out if they specify. I don't doubt the 250kmh might not be achievable (on the flat), I struggle to believe my QV could have got to the web stated 240kmh. Even assuming a correct speedo, the extra 13mph looked like taking a very long time. As you say, it would be interesting to see the delta for those people who have found a straight long enough....


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I've only gone as fast as 120 mph, and even then it was on an empty highway, with good weather, and a clear visibility miles down the road. The car was completely stable. It could definitely go faster.

It's always an interesting thing to know from an enthusiast standpoint. Even when I went this fast, it was only for a brief sprint. I'm just too conservative (read: scared) to do that sort of speeds in excess of 130 mph for any sustained period of time. Just my level of risk tolerance.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Mine is a cab. I don't recall any flapping of the canvas. I had a new top that was well installed, very taut as it should be. Windows were up of course. There was so much noise at those speeds and the world was going by so fast that I really don't remember any of those types of details.

At this point all our cars should vary from each other due to their own unique lives. Mine has original untouched suspension but in many ways has led a charmed life and is in good shape. Having said that, up until 130 the car is smooth and pleasant and doesn't change character much. After 130 things start to get hairy. I've not gone above 130 since that one time.

It's quite an experience as the tach is in the yellow, the car is barely accelerating and the foot is planted. In some ways it's like sitting in elementary school waiting for the last two minutes to go by. Time crawls by slowly while I saw potential catastrophe coming at me faster than I'd ever experienced. Eyes on the road but trying to get quick glimpses of the tach as it goes into orange and on toward red. And you wonder, is it good to sit near redline so long? I was more worried about the tach and I don't think I got a glimpse of the speedometer at it's peak.

Top speed is an interesting subject. Just because a car can do it doesn't mean it is necessarily meant to do it. As outlined previously it is simply a mathematical formula. I'd say about 130 +/- is the safe operating limit given an appropriate environment.

 

GREAT!

 

Hi Guys,

Do you know what the top speed of a Mondial t cab. And if anyone has been around there.